Sean Fahey

At the end of my third year of the Games Design and Development – BSc (Hons) course at TUS (Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest), I was encouraged to get some experience in my field through a Work Placement module.

With that, I was lucky enough to secure employment at BD for six months from March 2023 to August 2023. I joined one of the organization’s highly-skilled software development teams, which allowed me to get true hands-on experience and an understanding of what a career in my field would be like.

My responsibilities were challenging, but not stressful due to my team’s outstanding support and kind understanding. Before the placement, I was slightly overwhelmed with the idea of working at BD, given its long history and success, but immediately after joining the team, I felt as though any task I was assigned was a task for the team, not a duty that I was required to complete alone and immediately. Everyone understood the position I was in and, though I felt as though I generally held my own, any problems I had were met with nothing but compassion and direction, which was quite reassuring.

I was provided with more than enough tools to complete the tasks assigned to me; with access to Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Professional edition and Visual Studio Code, along with hardware supplements such as a laptop, docking station, mouse, keyboard and headphones. I felt nurtured every step of the way and know that I learned a lot because of it.

Specifically, my role was to use these resources to support enhancements in the software or implement new PBIs (Product Backlog Items) to the application, whilst also attending numerous meetings used by my team to keep track of everyone’s progress and satisfaction with the developments.

Toward the end of my placement, I was given the opportunity to work on a solo project, as the team came to the end of their development period. This was exciting to me, and I think it pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone, but also helped me grow in both coding knowledge and confidence. The developers were very supportive and willing to help me through any difficulties along the way, so the process was truly about getting the most out of the placement and not added pressure to perform, which I believe ultimately helped me to learn more than I would have otherwise.

Overall, to say the experience was helpful would certainly be an understatement; the people I met, the tasks I completed, the lessons I learned and the growth I achieved will all influence me in my future career and have prepared me for the challenges to come.

Day in the Life

The days were provided with a schedule that was consistent and relatively rigid, but not overwhelming in any way. In the morning, I would meet with the other developers to discuss our progress and plans for the day and then I would tackle any emails or messages that were unread and get to work. On most days, I would spend my time coding or making enhancements so I could move forward, but there were some in which I would attend meetings with the entire team, specifically at the end or the beginning of a new sprint (two-week period).

Every afternoon, my team held a Daily Stand-Up meeting (different for each team, some were held in the mornings), wherein we discussed everyone’s individual progress and plans for work until the next day’s meeting. These meetings varied in length but generally had a duration of half an hour. I think the team was very well managed and never did I think that we lost control of our work, which I think was a testament to the history of the company and the management styles that it’s developed.